What are the commonly used parameters for environmental quality assessment?

Environmental impact assessment can be divided into planning environmental impact assessment and environmental impact assessment for construction projects, depending on the subject of assessment. The sections and explanations on environmental impacts in the plan generally include the following: (1) Analysis, prediction, and assessment of the potential environmental impacts resulting from the implementation of the plan ； (2) Strategies and measures to prevent and mitigate adverse environmental impacts. The environmental impact assessment of a construction project should include the following contents: (1) Overview of the construction project ； (2) Environmental conditions around the construction project ； (3) Analysis, prediction, and assessment of the potential environmental impacts of the construction project ； (4) Environmental protection measures for construction projects and their technical and economic evaluation ； (5) Economic benefit and cost analysis of the environmental impact of the construction project ； (6) Recommendations for conducting environmental monitoring of construction projects ； (7) Conclusions of the environmental impact assessment.

Environmental quality parameters can be divided into three categories: physical, chemical, and biological (or ecological). 1. Most of the parameters for physical pollution reflect specific environmental quality conditions, such as the sound level of noise, the intensity level of vibrations, the intensity of radiation, the power of microwaves, and the energy of thermal radiation. However, there are also parameters that reflect only one aspect of a particular environmental factor, such as the concentration, particle size, and shape of particulates in the atmosphere, or the turbidity and transparency of water. 2. Most of the parameters for chemical pollution reflect the individual characteristics of a particular environmental factor. For example, in the assessment of air quality, concentrations of sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, oxidants, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, and particulate matter are commonly used as parameters to indicate the degree of air pollution. Sometimes, the sum of the product-adjusted values of sulfur dioxide concentration and particulate matter concentration, as well as the sulfate conversion rate, are also used as parameters to indicate the quality of the atmosphere. In water quality assessment, in addition to some conventional water chemistry parameters, the concentrations of trace harmful chemical elements, pesticides, and other inorganic or organic compounds are also commonly used as parameters. Among them, the parameters of toxic chemicals, particularly various teratogenic and mutagenic chemical substances, are given great attention. Parameters such as pH value, biochemical oxygen demand (or chemical oxygen demand), and dissolved oxygen concentration can provide a comprehensive overview of water quality. 3. Biological pollution parameters can comprehensively reflect the environmental quality status. For example, the number of E. coli in water bodies can reflect the degree to which water quality is contaminated by domestic sewage. Some parameters indicating changes in individual aquatic species, genera, and communities can comprehensively reflect the variations in water body environmental quality.

The commonly used evaluation parameters for atmospheric environmental quality are as follows: (1) Particulates: dust fall, total suspended particulates (TSP), and floating dust. (2) Harmful gases: sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, ozone. (3) Hazardous elements: fluorine, lead, mercury, arsenic, chlorine, cadmium, etc. (4): Organics: aromatics, halogenated hydrocarbons, total hydrocarbons.